Sunday, September 15, 2013

The Big 2013 GlassBuild America Wrap Up

Another GlassBuild America is in the books and the key
takeaway is pretty apparent. There is
serious optimism and proof of a positive trend in our industry. The good news that came from the show floor
was that machinery was being sold at an amazing pace. Whether it was
fabrication equipment or glass (for shops and mostly job sites) handling machinery, it was in demand and being
sold over the three days in Atlanta.
People would NOT be buying (especially in the numbers they did) if they
did not think we were not headed in the right direction.

As for the show, I would deem it a major success. Yes not every of the more than 350 exhibitors
had a great show, but a heavy majority did. (Keep in mind the vast focus of the
show makes it impossible for every exhibitor to have giant audience) The vibe was great and the support that so
many of the exhibitors showed our industry truly was tremendous.

The Glazing Executives Forum went extremely well. The “State of the Industry” panel really
delivered. Economist Dr. Jeff Dietrich
came through with a great presentation as always. His statement of growth and investment really
did mix well with the way the show went.
I will have more comment/details on this presentation on my next post.

I though the in-show demonstrations were spectacular. The multi-laminate cutting one (Putsch &
Company) was something I had never seen before, and I thought the “Are you
Smarter Than a FenestrationMaster” (AAMA) was creative and smart. Plus the digital printing piece by Dip Tech
had great crowds each time and was fascinating too. Last the Impact testing (ATI) never ever
fails to impress and wow the audience.
That is truly a GlassBuild staple.

As for seen and heard on the floor…

-- Actually I did not see Jeff Cothery to congratulate him on
his new role at Besana Lovati… happy for him though. I did see and spend time with the great John
Rovi of Sapa, he is a credit to our industry for sure. I was very impressed with the effort and team
at AGC; they really brought their “A” game to the show. The CR Laurence booth was a massive hub of
activity all show long. I did get to
chat with Lloyd Talbert of CRL and just really honored with his commitment to
support the industry by going all out every year at this event. Speaking of going all out, as always the
folks from Quanex did not disappoint and a special thanks to Ryan Kerch there
for his help and hospitality. It’s not a
show for me if I don’t visit the guys from Glasstech, Dave and Tom always in
top form. A couple of other Tom’s were
also running around doing good things… O’Malley from Doralco and Herron from
NFRC. And so happy for Michael Schmidt
in his new role with FOREL, he’ll do great things there.

-- I finally met Russ Slaybaugh from DFI in person after YEARS
of communicating by e-mail. That is
another company that gets it when it comes to supporting the industry.

-- GlassBuild had a “Best in Show” award and while they had
extremely impressive and worthy winners, here’s a couple that didn’t win and I
am stunned. M3 Glass Technologies booth
was a stunner. Loved what the gang at
Salem Distributing had going and in fact they win this years “Fashion” award
with best golf shirts. They offered me
one for $19.95 too…. I’m going to save up to buy one for next year.

-- Old friends… seeing Scott Goodman from a far, getting a few
minutes with Cliff Monroe, and chatting with Dean Mead. Running into Tom Marsh was fun, but basically
missing Tony Kamber, Joel Smith, Scott Sallee, and Manny Valladares was
depressing- saw all 4 but never got to talk to them-surely bummed me out. I
only got a couple of seconds with Oliver Stepe, of YKK, but was glad to at
least get that considering he is a man in demand.

-- New friends… met artist Christopher Reisert of Reflective
Collections in West Palm Beach and his ideas and creativity look to be a major
breath of fresh air for our world. I had
always known of Trent Hartley of Coastal/Aldora, so it was cool to meet him in
person. And I finally met Mason Harper
from the very smart Nu Vu Glass out of Idaho who made the trip in with a team
of folks from his office.

-- A few kudos to go around… first a major thank you to the
team at NGA and GlassBuild America. I
have said it before and I will say it again, there’s no group more talented and
their drive and dedication to make this the best show possible is impressive. Plus they put up with me, and that alone
takes a ton of effort. And a massive
thank you to every exhibitor who came out, expended resources, and made the
show great. The support of the show and
thus the support of the industry means a ton.
We are all better for it!

Next week we return to normal… or whatever that is….

LINKS of the WEEK

I may be in the minority here but I think this is a
frivolous lawsuit.

Ummm check this story out… amusement park gets ride shut
down for safety rules, so it just moves it to a different state… and they plan
on setting it up… without addressing the issue…

Plastic surgery to look like a hero or a star… I may do
this, I want to look like Denzel Washington.

VIDEO of the WEEK

In case you missed it… Here’s the day 3 recap video from
GlassBuild America… man it was a fun week.
I am very tired now though!!